The mobile advertisement market has grown exponentially as the use of mobile devices continues to grow. The mobile advertisement market is expected to grow to $5.7 billion by 2014. One of the main factors for this growth is that most consumers have mobile devices with them nearly all the time, and the always-connected nature of the mobile device provides access to dynamic advertising.
Of the roughly 1,000 smartphone users surveyed, 52% claim they have acted on an advertisement via an application and 18% have made a purchase directly from an advertisement application in the last month. Currently, location-based services are beginning to provide attractive alternatives for small-scale advertisers. For example, even small businesses are capable of distributing targeted offers to the end users based on a user's actual proximity to their location. These offers can deliver heightened relevance by appealing to a user's status, nearby friends, demonstrated preferences, etc. There are a number of mobile applications and tools emerging that consumers can use to make their shopping trips more efficient, productive, and desirable.
A current limitation of mobile advertising is that it is a type of highly targeted advertising, and advertisers are hesitant to commit to certain types of advertising until they perceive that the audience for their advertisements has reached a certain level. Another limitation is the targeted nature of mobile advertising. Users do not want to have advertisements interrupt them in their normal use of the mobile device. The mobile advertisements must be highly relevant in order to be considered by the user.